Frequently asked questions about judicial auctions

Twice, on consecutive days, in the Boletín Judicial, Costa Rica's official judicial gazette. That is the general rule, and it does not change depending on who the creditor is.

No. There are two consecutive publications, whether the creditor is Banco Nacional, BCR, Banco Popular, a finance company, a cooperative or a private individual. A different matter is the special notice used to locate or notify a third party, which may be published just once.

Not under the general rules. What the law requires is that five business days have passed since the day after the first publication and that all interested parties have been notified. A special regime could set something different, which is why you always need to identify the type of proceeding.

Business days. Article 159 says so expressly and, as a general rule of the Code, time limits set in days are understood to be business days.

No. There are two conditions that run in parallel: the time limit since the first publication and the notification of all interested parties. If the notice was published early but a creditor who had to be notified was only notified days later, the date on which the auction can legally be held is pushed back. That is why it is worth checking the case file (expediente) to confirm that the notifications were actually carried out.

As a general rule, no, when all three dates were set in the same original order and notice. It is different if that order was annulled, the date changed, a completely new auction was ordered or an auction was declared void (insubsistente): in those cases you need to review the new court ruling and the publication rules that apply to it.

Read the full notice: an ordinary notice lists the three dates and the three base prices in sequence. Then confirm it in the case file with the record (acta) of the previous auction, which must show that it was declared failed (fracasado) for lack of bidders. As a mathematical check, the base price for the second auction is 75% of the original and for the third 25%; but the calculation is only a check, and the decisive source is the court ruling.

It is more accurate to say that the court orders the auction and its publication. When the notice comes from a court office, that office sends it through the Boletín Judicial system. Since the Judiciary (Poder Judicial) took over publication of the Boletín, publications are free of charge and the Boletín comes out every business day.

In the Judiciary's Boletín Judicial, which is the official source. On this site we publish those same notices already processed, with the location on the map, the base price and the dates, but for any purchase decision always check against the Boletín and the case file.

No. Article 159 does not require the bidder to be represented by a lawyer: its requirements focus on whether the bid is admissible, the deposit, a means of receiving notifications and payment. An individual can appear on their own behalf. It is another matter if you later want to file appeals or motions, where the ordinary rules on legal representation do apply.

It is not correct to say that only a lawyer can review it, but a third party who is not a party to the case does not have unrestricted access to all of its contents either: the Judiciary protects sensitive personal data and restricted-access information. Lawyers do have a specific protocol that allows them to request to view, download or copy the file even if they are not counsel of record in the case. For an outside buyer's due diligence, a review by a lawyer is the safest route.

No, that is not a legal requirement for bidders. The reference to “the day before” that appears in operating manuals refers to internal checks by the court before holding the auction. For a buyer, the sensible approach is an initial review well in advance and a second check close to the date, to catch suspensions or recent activity in the file.

The Code does not set up a national bidder registry or any universal advance registration like that of an online auction platform. The approach is to appear at the auction meeting the financial and identification requirements. The auction record identifies whoever becomes the winning bidder, and the bidder must provide a means of receiving notifications.

In practice it is wise to bring: a valid ID; the deposit receipt or instrument in an accepted form; a means of receiving notifications; if a company is bidding, documents proving the representation and powers of the person appearing; and a copy of the notice with the full case number. The details may vary by court, so confirm them before the auction.

Yes, but the person appearing must adequately prove their representation and powers. Bring a current certificate of legal standing (personería jurídica) and check with the court what specific documents it requires.

Two things need to be kept apart. Stopping bidding is allowed: if someone beats your bid, you simply do not bid again. Unilaterally withdrawing a bid that is still the highest is different: the Code does not establish a general right to withdraw. The procedure in article 159 ends with the property being awarded to the highest bidder, and article 162 imposes severe consequences if that winning bidder does not pay the full price. Treat every bid as binding.

No. At each auction, bidding starts at the applicable base price: 100% of the original base price at the first auction, 75% at the second and 25% at the third. What drops from one auction to the next is the base price itself, not the possibility of bidding below it.

An ordinary bidder deposits 50% of the base price. There is special treatment for an enforcing creditor with a priority-ranking claim who uses that claim to bid, but that exception belongs to the creditor in that procedural position and cannot be used by an outside buyer.

No. That information is out of date under the current Civil Procedure Code. Article 159 requires 50% of the base price from an ordinary bidder. The 30% in article 162 is the portion of the deposit that is forfeited as compensation when the winning bidder does not pay, not the ordinary deposit to take part.

A special rule applies at the third auction: the bidder must deposit the full amount of their bid, not 50% of the base price. Bidding starts at 25% of the original base price.

The law allows it, along with a bank payment or deposit to the order of the court, a certified check from a Costa Rican bank and authorized electronic methods. For safety and for the logistics of the court, it is wise to confirm in advance which method to use.

No. The law specifically refers to a certified check from a Costa Rican bank. Nor should you assume that any cashier's check (cheque de gerencia) or bank receipt will automatically be treated as the required method: when large amounts are involved, ask the court to confirm how the instrument must be issued and to whom it must be made payable.

Only if it is an electronic method that the Judiciary has enabled for that deposit. A transfer made on your own initiative is not automatically sufficient: whether the instrument is procedurally admissible is determined by article 159 and the instructions issued by the court.

You can pay the full price during the auction. If you do not, you must deposit the balance within three days. Since time limits in days under the Code are business days, this ordinarily means three procedural business days, not three weeks or an open-ended period to look for a mortgage.

You can try, but the court is not required to extend the deadline for that: the balance is due within three days. There is also a structural difficulty: when the balance is due, the property (finca) is usually not yet registered in your name, because court approval and notarization (protocolización) come later, which makes it hard to place a mortgage on that same property. Financing should be arranged before you bid.

Costa Rican banks do offer up to 100% financing in certain programs, but for their own foreclosed or for-sale properties. Those products are for properties the bank has already acquired and then sells on its own terms: they do not turn a judicial auction of someone else's property into a financed transaction, nor do they extend the three-day court deadline.

The auction is declared void (insubsistente). The enforcing creditors receive 30% of the deposit as fixed compensation for damages, and the rest is applied to the claim of the priority-ranking enforcing creditor. In addition, when the new auction is ordered, the deposit to take part will be the full base price.

There is no “cooling-off period”. If you do not pay the full price within the deadline, the financial consequences of article 162 apply: you lose part of the deposit and the rest is applied to the claim. Refusing to pay is not a simple withdrawal.

That rule cannot be stated in absolute terms. When the sale takes place in insolvency proceedings or to enforce a first-ranking claim, the auction is ordered free of encumbrances under the terms of the law. When a lower-ranking claim is enforced, certain earlier encumbrances may be treated differently: if an earlier claim is not yet due or is subject to a condition, there may be a scenario in which the buyer has to take it on. You need to look at the rank of the claim being enforced and then at the cancellations ordered in the ruling that approves the auction.

No. Article 159 places on the buyer the risk regarding the situation, condition and actual physical circumstances of the property, whether or not they appear in the case file. Article 163 allows the court to order delivery, but that is not the same as a commercial guarantee of immediate vacant possession.

It calls for case-by-case analysis. You should not assume that “every tenant disappears with the auction” without reviewing the lease, its date, the registry situation, the nature of the tenancy and the applicable substantive law. The Code regulates the forced sale, but it does not make every occupancy situation involving third parties the same.

A judicial auction does not work like an ordinary sale: there is no seller to show you the property or guarantee access. What you can and should do is investigate from the outside and with public sources: location, actual access, visible boundaries, buildings, apparent condition and who occupies it. The buyer takes on that risk, so it should be reflected in the maximum price you are willing to pay.

It is one of the checks you must make before bidding. Ask the municipality about outstanding taxes and fees and, where applicable, check the status of regular and special condominium fees. The fact that an obligation does not appear as a registered mortgage does not mean it is wise to ignore it when calculating the real cost of taking over and using the property.

The ruling that approves the auction orders delivery of the property, but if there are occupants who do not leave voluntarily, third-party rights that need analysis or special physical circumstances, further court action may be needed to carry it out. There is no universal timeframe.

Yes, but only through specific routes: at the request of the creditor (or, if several enforcing creditors have appeared in the case, all of them) or when any interested party deposits to the order of the court an amount sufficient to cover everything claimed, including court costs. If the amount is clearly insufficient, suspension is not granted; if there is doubt about whether it is sufficient, the law provides a mechanism to determine or make up the difference.

They can negotiate, but negotiating is not the same as suspending. An email from the bank saying they are “reviewing the proposal”, a refinancing offer or a newly signed private agreement do not cancel the auction on their own. The prudent course, for both the debtor and the bidder, is to treat the auction as going ahead until the case file shows a court ruling that suspends, cancels or changes the scheduled auction.

That route exists and it does not require the creditor to agree: depositing to the order of the court an amount that covers everything claimed, including court costs. Be careful with the calculation: “the loan principal” is not enough. You need to get an updated figure from the case file that includes principal, interest, court costs and any other amounts claimed in court.

The Code does not prescribe a mandatory form, but in practice it should be in writing and specify: the acknowledged balance, interest, court costs and legal fees; the initial payment and the following installments; payment dates and methods; the effect of non-payment; who will ask the court for the suspension; and what will happen to the case, the attachment (embargo), the mortgage or the annotations once the agreement is fulfilled. What is legally essential is that the agreement be accompanied by the procedural step needed for the court to suspend or end the enforcement.

Under the general rules there is no universal obligation for a creditor to grant any particular plan, term, discount or refinancing. Those conditions depend on the creditor, the contract, its internal policies and the circumstances of the loan. What the law does establish is the procedural route to suspend the auction once a solution has been reached.

A private transaction involving a property under enforcement calls for extreme care because of the encumbrances, annotations and rights of the creditor. You should not assume that a private sale ends the enforcement: to stop the auction, the corresponding procedural step must be taken.

Not necessarily, and that is precisely the operational risk. A bidder should not assume it “will surely be suspended”: it is wise to check the case file or contact the court before moving a certified check or large sums of money. The law allows the auction to be held in certain scenarios even when there is a pending issue, with its effects subject to the corresponding decision.

After the auction come payment, court approval and notarization (protocolización) of the relevant documents so they can be filed and registered with the National Registry (Registro Nacional). Having made the best bid does not replace those steps.

It is the act by which a notary public incorporates the necessary documents and court ruling into an instrument that can be filed with the National Registry. It is a different role from that of the lawyer who reviews the case file or represents someone in the proceedings.

The Code does not set a number of days within which the Registry must complete the registration. Between the auction and registration there may be payment, the approval ruling, its becoming final or any challenges to it, notarization, filing with the Registry and possible registry defects.

That the procedure was regular: the auction will be approved if the legal provisions have been followed. The approval ruling orders the appropriate registry cancellations, authorizes notarization and orders delivery of the property. That is why approval is the main checkpoint for defects in the auction.

Challenges to defective actions before or during the auction are concentrated in the appeals available against the ruling that approves the auction; after that, annulment is limited to much narrower grounds. That explains why there can be a gap between “I won the auction” and “I have a fully usable registered title”.

Yes. One particular example is criminal proceedings concerning the falsity of the underlying document in a mortgage or pledge foreclosure: in that case, approval of the auction may be suspended until the criminal proceedings end, even though the auction has already been held.

No. The above describes the general civil regime. Insolvency, agrarian, labor, administrative litigation and family proceedings, or enforcement governed by special legislation, may have their own particularities. The Code itself states that its rules govern civil and commercial proceedings and those without special procedural legislation.

Older case files may contain actions taken under the former Judicial Collection Law (Ley de Cobro Judicial) or earlier rules. That is why you should check the start date of the case file and the transitional rules before mechanically applying a new rule to an old action. The key is not to use an old manual instead of the current text of the Code.

Yes. In addition to the amendment that the Insolvency Law (Ley Concursal) No. 9957 made in 2021 to subsections 157.3 and 157.4, the Superior Council of the Judiciary (Consejo Superior del Poder Judicial) approved in July 2026 an update to the Procedures Manual related to the processing of auctions. Since it is a recent update, it should be preferred over copies of earlier manuals that still circulate online.

In a judicial auction, a court puts the property up for auction within enforcement proceedings, under the rules of the Civil Procedure Code. What people call a “bank auction” (“remate bancario”) is usually the sale of a property that was already awarded to the bank and that it is now reselling directly, on its own price and financing terms. They are different transactions, with different deadlines and risks.